1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure which is to be mounted between a cargo hatch and its coaming in order to define a concave liner which will collect any water seepage below a hatch and thereby protect the cargo while at sea or dockside.
The instant invention is converned with hatch covers for cargo ships, including various hatches as are presently found on various size ship holds.
Because of the universal geometry of the instant design, the hatch cover will be adaptable to various and sundry hatches sizes without alteration and thereby provides a particularly economical and efficient manner of insuring that any water seepage from below a hatch cover into a ship's hold will be effectively drained to a lower bilge position without contact and resultant damage to the cargo held therewithin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art as known to applicant in the field of structures to prevent water damage to cargo within a ship's hold represents a universal reliance upon external tarpaulin covers outside of the hatch cover or convex hatch tents which must be assembled over an open hatch cover during dockside loading operation.
Exemplary of this prior art are the following:
______________________________________ GREAT BRITAIN 827,045 GREAT BRITAIN 287,343 FRANCE 1,140,453 GERMANY 1,125,306 YANOW 3,405,814 BARTOLUCCI 3,148,384 LANDIS 3,037,251 VON TELL 1,319,980 NORLING 1,319,610 McDOUGALL 1,270,428 SCHULHOFF 1,093,211 ______________________________________
Great Britain 827,045 illustrates a clamp for conventionally securing a tarpaulin over a hatch cover and against the coaming of the hatch. As such this patent simply represents one variant on securing a batten externally for holding a tarpaulin outside a hatch cover.
The tent design of British 287,343 illustrates a known convex awning structure with further provision for hoisting line access during loading and unloading operations. Similarly, the weatherproof convex cover of French patent 1,140,453 also provides for access of a hoist line during operations and does not contemplate a seaworthy rain protection structure for a closed hatch.
German patent 1,125,306 illustrates another form of hatch tent usable only for loading operation and not an inverted hatch tent which is suspended below a secured hatch cover with provision for draining accumulated water into a bilge.
The U.S. patent to Yanow similarly is only usable as a temporary hatch tent while cargo is being unloaded or loaded. At FIG. 10 Yanow illustrates a rain catch 57 to allow water from the temporary door 29c to drain off through line 58, however, the temporary tent of Yanow has no applicability whatsoever as a seal between a closed hatch cover and the hold coaming.
The swimming pool cover of Bartolucci illustrates a non-analogous type of cover for a rectangularly open structure with his disclosed improvement being in the particular fastening means. The use of a cover over an opening per se is, of course, well known. However the specific cover structure herein interacts between a hatch coaming and a hatch cover by particularized gripping means to define a total drainage system in order to constitute a significantly improved structure that solves what was heretofore a very vexing problem in this art.
The patent to Landis illustrates a type of sealing gasket having particular utility for a closable door and does not contemplate an inverted tent structure extending downwardly from the four sides of a hatch for accumulation and drainage of water leakage.
The tarpaulin and batten structures of Von Tell and Norling are enclosed merely to represent other conventional tarpaulin securing arrangements wherein a batten secures a tarpaulin over the hatch cover and outside the hatch coaming.
The early patent to McDougall teaches a sealing structure between a hatch cover 6 and a coaming 3 wherein water tightness is maintained through packings between the cover and the coaming. There again is no inverted tent formed between the hatch cover and the coaming to allow the inevitable water seepage to be kept from the cargo.
Finally, the patent to Schulhoff is cited to show a non-analogous rubber stopper for covering a horizontal milk bottle opening with one type of gripper assembly engaging a vertical flange about the opening. As such this milk bottle stopper is pertinent only to show one type of gripper design which cooperates to hold a cover over a horizontal opening.
In summary, none of these references begin to teach an inverted tent for suspension between a hatch cover and its coaming. Furthermore, the further provision of a congruent series of gripper lines to accommodate various coaming sizes and/or drain line from the lowest point of the suspended cover is not contemplated by the clear teachings of these references.